- Swede battles for podium from Sprint Race pole
- Hitech racer nets bonus point for fastest lap in Feature Race fightback
Dino Beganovic raced through all sorts of drama on an action-packed FIA Formula 2 Championship weekend at Monza, scoring in both races at the legendary Italian circuit.
As Formula 2 returned after the summer break, it did not take long for action to unfold, with no fewer than three red flags affecting Friday’s qualifying session.
Despite getting just one lap in between the stoppages, Beganovic crucially managed to take tenth place in qualifying – handing him pole position for Saturday’s partially reversed-grid Sprint Race.
Essentially racing on home turf as part of the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy, Beganovic consequently found himself at the head of the 22-car field as the lights went out, but struggled to defend along Monza’s vast straights and slipped back to third at the chequered flag.
A five-second time penalty for a Virtual Safety Car infringement, however, dropped Beganovic to sixth in the final classification.
“The Sprint Race was tough,” says Dino Beganovic. “We were struggling for straightline speed and couldn’t defend the lead, but third was still a decent result that I would have been happy with under the circumstances. However, I made a mistake just driving slightly below my delta time – we’re talking a few tenths of a second – during VSC and got a penalty. It’s a big shame of course; I would have loved to be on the podium in front of the tifosi here at Monza.”
Sunday’s Feature Race then marked a clear step forward in performance, Beganovic’s silver Hitech machine coming alive and proving among the fastest in the pack. Despite a slow start and a poor pit stop, the Swede was able to move back up the order to sixth place, powering through with a series of overtakes and scoring an additional point for fastest lap (for the third Feature Race in a row).
“We made some changes overnight and on Sunday we were really, really fast,” concludes Beganovic. “It was quite a significant step and we had a much more raceable car. It was a positive end to the weekend, but even more so, it’s encouraging going into the last few rounds. I think this is something we can definitely build on.”
Following his double Monza score, Dino Beganovic now moves into the top ten in the F2 standings. The championship resumes on the streets of Baku, Azerbaijan, on September 19-21.
RESULTS
FIA Formula 2 Championship
Rd. 11 – Monza (ITA)
Race 1 (Sprint Race)
1: L. Fornaroli (ITA), Invicta Racing
2: A. Lindblad (GBR), Campos Racing
3: J. Dürksen (PRY), AIX Racing
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6: D. Beganovic (SWE), Hitech
Race 2 (Feature Race)
1: L. Browning (GBR), Hitech
2: J. Dürksen (PRY), AIX Racing
3: J. Martí (ESP), Campos Racing
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6: D. Beganovic (SWE), Hitech
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
FIA Formula 2 Championship
After 11/14 rounds
1: L. Fornaroli (ITA), Invicta Racing, 174 p.
2: L. Browning (GBR), Hitech, 153 p.
3: R. Verschoor (NED), MP Motorsport, 144 p.
4: J. Crawford (USA), DAMS Lucas Oil, 137 p.
5: A. Dunne (IRE), Rodin Motorsport, 124 p.
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10: D. Beganovic (SWE), Hitech, 70 p.
